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A Spanish court has thrown out murder charges against three US soldiers accused of killing a Spanish cameraman during the war in Iraq. Jose Couso, 37, died in April 2003 after a US tank fired on a hotel used by foreign journalists in Baghdad. Madrid's National Court dropped all charges, ruling there was "insufficient evidence" to continue with the trial. The court ruling underlined that the case was being definitively dismissed, with no further opportunity to appeal. US officials ignored two international arrest warrants issued for Sgt Thomas Gibson, Cpt Philip Wolford and Lt-Col Philip De Camp, in 2005 and...

Getting into a war zone to report live and do live shows takes some effort and flexibility. Here's the latest on Gunny Bob's expedition to Iraq. On 4 January, the Gunny will fly to Kuwait City via Beirut as it stands now, but that route could change. In any case, he should arrive in Kuwait on 6 January and them hopefully get a hop into Baghdad on 7 January. On 8 January, Gunny will join the 2nd Marine Division in Fallujah. He will stay there until the 10th or so for some live and taped interviews and reports, and then...

There's a new video about a terrorist plan and attack that took place a few days ago. It shows the terrorist as they plan and then execute the bombing of two hotels in Baghdad. Can anyone find it? What's the URL?

A videotape posted Friday on the Internet claims to show how al-Qaida in Iraq carried out Oct. 24 suicide attacks on two Baghdad hotels that killed as many as 17 Iraqi pedestrians and security guards. The video purports to show the terror group rehearsing the attack, with a commander giving directions to bombers in a car. The video also shows the actual bombings, which the Internet posting says was filmed by al-Qaida. The 13-minute video is called "Badr Raid," after a famous victory by Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Its authenticity could not be verified but it appeared on an Islamic Web...

Jack Kelly: Reservation for terror The media missed the story on the Baghdad hotel attack Sunday, October 30, 2005 Al-Qaida has claimed credit for a large, sophisticated attack Monday on the two hotels in Baghdad where most foreign journalists and many defense contractors stay.           The attack failed, but it was a near-run thing. The Palestine and Sheraton hotels are across a short street from each other, adjacent to Firdous Square, a traffic roundabout where the statue of Saddam Hussein was torn down on April 9, 2003. The attack involved three suicide bombers and an unknown...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. soldier shot and killed one of three suicide bombers who attacked the Palestine Hotel complex before he could reach his intended target and that probably saved lives in the building, the military said Saturday. In a statement on Monday's attack, the military confirmed for the first time that insurgents on the ground apparently lent support to the suicide bombers with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades in the well-coordinated strike on the hotel complex, where many foreign journalists live and work. The three powerful explosions killed 17 Iraqis who were in the area at the...

The US military in Iraq has released new information about a triple vehicle attack near Baghdad's Palestine Hotel complex, a base for many foreign journalists work. The October 24 attack killed 17 Iraqis and wounded several reporters. In a statement on Saturday US officials said that a soldier guarding the complex had probably saved many more lives at the hotel by killing the bomber before he could reach the entrance of the building and set off his explosives. "He was trying to kill people," said the soldier involved, Specialist Darrell Greens. "It was good we stopped him because he would...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. soldier shot and killed one of three suicide bombers who attacked the Palestine Hotel complex before he could reach his intended target and that probably saved lives in the building, the military said Saturday. The military also said the insurgents used small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in their well-coordinated strike on the hotel complex, where many foreign journalists live and work. Several people in the complex were wounded but all 17 people killed were Iraqis in the area at the time, the government said.

Updated: 15:44, Monday October 24, 2005 Three powerful blasts have reportedly rocked Baghdad near a hotel occupied by foreign journalists.The explosions scattered debris over a wide area near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels and sent smoke rising into the sky.More follows...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2005 – A combination of rockets and car bombs exploded near the outer walls of the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in downtown Baghdad today, military officials reported. A statement from Multinational Force Iraq said civilian casualties have yet to be determined, but that no coalition forces were injured in the attack. Iraqi security forces and coalition forces are securing the area and bringing order to the bombing site, the statement said. Reportedly, a number of Western journalists stay at the Palestine Hotel. In other Iraq news, Iraqi army troops detained two men and their stash of ordnance...

The Palestine and Sheraton hotels were the world's windows on Baghdad during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Television reporters stood on rooftops of the side-by-side hotels for their live shots, using a nearby blue-domed mosque in Firdous Square as a backdrop. Photographers took pictures of smoldering palaces from the hotels' upper floors. And Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf gained international fame for his absurd claims of Iraqi military victories - all delivered from a Palestine Hotel banquet room. The Palestine was shelled on April 8, 2003, by a U.S. tank from across the Tigris River. Soldiers said they believed...

This from Fox News:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173192,00.html "BAGHDAD, Iraq — Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel (search), home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle. Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie (search), said the attack — which appeared well-planned — was a "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and seize journalists as hostages." So I wonder - does this mean the press is going to start trash talking Insurgents...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle. Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said the attack _ which appeared well-planned _ was a "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and seize journalists as hostages.One of the car bombs exploded near the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein...

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish judge issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for three U.S. soldiers, charging them with murder in the death of Spanish TV cameraman Jose Couso in Baghdad, Iraq. Couso, who worked for Spain's Telecinco network, died at the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, as U.S. forces advanced to take control of the city in April 2003. Investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz of the National Court will seek the extradition of the soldiers to Spain, a court spokeswoman told CNN. They are wanted for "murder" and "a crime against the international community," according to the warrant,...

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge wants to question three U.S. soldiers as suspects in the death of a Spanish cameraman who was killed when a U.S. tank fired on a hotel housing foreign journalists during the 2003 assault on Baghdad. "It would be a very, very cold day in hell before that would ever happen," said a State Department official, who asked not to be named. The Pentagon has found no fault with the soldiers, but High Court Judge Santiago Pedraz wants to question the three men who were in the tank, a court official said on Tuesday. Telecinco...

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge wants to question three U.S. soldiers as suspects in the death of a Spanish cameraman who was killed when a U.S. tank fired on a hotel housing foreign journalists during the 2003 assault on Baghdad. The Pentagon has found no fault with the soldiers, but High Court Judge Santiago Pedraz wants to question the three men who were in the tank, a court official said on Tuesday. Telecinco cameraman Jose Couso and Reuters cameraman Taras Protsiuk died and several other people were injured by a shell fired on the Palestine Hotel in the Iraqi...

Don't Let U.S. Soldiers get Railroaded 3/27/05 By Defendingliberty Sgt Shawn Gibson, Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment. Who is he? He is the soldier that fired the tank round that hit the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad 4/8/03 killing two journalists . Amy Goodman’s Democracynow http://www.democracynow.org/ is pimping the theory that this was a war crime with an “Un-embed the Media Tour” 1 featuring Phil Donahue and others. The usual anti-war suspects are calling this “Murder “ and a “War Crime”. The brother of Spanish journalists (Jose Couso) killed in the attack will be taking his case to the...

Journalists' killers 'not being brought to justice' Dominic Timms Tuesday January 18, 2005 The culprits responsible for killing more than 100 journalists and other media workers worldwide last year are only half as likely to be caught as London burglars, a leading international press group claimed today. The International Federation of Journalists said most of the 129 deaths of media staff in 2004 - the highest on record - resulted from either "deliberate attacks" by gunmen, corrupt officials, armed gangs and governments, or "nervous, unruly and ill-disciplined soldiering". In most cases, the IFJ added, the killers were still at large....

KIEV (Reuters) - Family and friends of Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk gathered in Kiev on Thursday to mark a year since he was killed by U.S. troops in Baghdad amid calls on Washington to probe further the deaths of journalists in Iraq Protsyuk, a Ukrainian, and Jose Couso, a cameraman with Spanish television Telecinco, died when a U.S. tank fired a shell into the Palestine Hotel, where most foreign media were staying during the U.S.-led invasion. Couso's brother laid flowers in his memory in the Iraqi capital and demanded those responsible be brought to account. Tarek Ayoub, of Qatar-based Al...

Explosion heard in Baghdad.   Greg Palkot from the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad, across from the Palestine Hotel:   "We are hearing that the explosion is to the south of us...took place in the southern part of Baghad, around the Karada district, this is a very busy area...certainly would be...busy tonight..." "We're told that there's a large plume of smoke coming from that area."   Confirmed..."in Karada...a base for other international bodies...in area of Al Hamra (sp) hotel, a base for int'l (operations)...(witness saw) "a rocket arc...could have been a rocket propelled grenade..or missile...a red arc....Helicopters in the air...gunfire, we've...